A review by zamyatins_fears
Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

There are certainly are more extensive works on the subject, but this is a good read for anyone interested in it for the historic importance. The woman known as Nellie Bly (pen name) was one of the earliest investigative reporters. It's terrifying how easily she was able to get herself committed to an insane asylum. Just as it's heartbreaking to read about just the abuses she witnessed or heard many accounts of. Modern works may be a bit more in-depth on these kinds of abuses, but Bly was instrumental in getting more funds diverted to the care of those suffering on Roosevelt Island and was instrumental in the call for reform. A bit of a slow start, but a quick read once she is declared a "hopeless case" and shipped off to the asylum. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Written in WW1 originally for the papers, so the abuses mentioned are stated factually, but without graphic descriptions.